The Shifting Balance of Power recounts the events that led to the assumption of power in the Western Hemisphere by the United States as the attention of the British gradually shifted elsewhere. Prior to the 1840's, Great Britain dominated Canada, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Atlantic regions. The growth of the United States, fed by the potential to obtain more land to the west, spurred conflicting interests between the two countries. Rather than enter a third war, the two sides compromised to prolong the status quo. However, the United States soon gained interest in the commercial possibilities of the Orient while also coveting expansion to the West. David L. Dykstra illuminates the situation and events that forged a commitment to liberal economic principles that allowed the United States to become the dominant nation in the Western Hemisphere.